Bread Springs Man Charged with Assault and Federal Firearms Offense

ALBUQUERQUE – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced that Arthur Chee Pat appeared in federal court on a criminal complaint charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Pat, 68, of Bread Springs, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, will remain on conditions of release pending trial, which has not been scheduled.

According to the criminal complaint, on January 22, 2024, John Doe and three other men were gathered in front of Doe’s residence in Bread Springs. Pat, who lived nearby, heard the four men yelling and went to see the nature of the commotion. Pat returned to his residence to retrieve a firearm and then drove to the location of the yelling. When Pat arrived, he told his son (who was one of the men gathered in Doe’s front yard) to get in Pat’s truck. Pat then brandished a firearm and fired three gunshots in the direction of one man and two more in John Doe’s direction, striking Doe once in the knee. Pat then drove away with his son.

John Doe was transported to Gallup Indian Medical Center and was subsequently transferred to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. Pat was detained by law enforcement at his residence soon after the incident. Officers located the handgun in the back of Pat’s vehicle.  

A criminal complaint is only an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of the current charges, Pat faces up to life in prison.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Jones is prosecuting the case.

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